Mapping evapotranspiration based on remote sensing: An application to Canada's landmass

Abstract

The evapotranspiration (ET) from all Canadian landmass in 1996 is estimated at daily steps and 1 km resolution using a process model named boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS). The model is driven by remotely sensed leaf area index and land cover maps as well as soil water holding capacity and daily meteorological data. All the major ET components are considered: transpiration from vegetation, evaporation of canopy‐intercepted rainfall, evaporation from soil, sublimation of snow in winter and in permafrost and glacier areas, and sublimation of canopy‐intercepted snow. In forested areas the transpiration from both the overstory and understory vegetation is modeled separately. The Penman‐Monteith method was applied to sunlit and shaded leaf groups individually in modeling the canopy‐level transpiration, a methodological improvement necessary for forest canopies with considerable foliage clumping. The modeled ET map displays pronounced east‐west and north‐south gradients as well as detailed variations with cover types and vegetation density. It is estimated that for a relative wet year of 1996, the total ET from all Canada's landmass (excluding inland waters) was 2037 km3. If compared with the total precipitation of 5351 km3 based on the data from a medium range meteorological forecast model, the ratio of ET to precipitation was 38%. The ET averaged over Canadian land surface was 228 mm/yr in 1996, partitioned into transpiration of 102 mm yr−1 and evaporation and sublimation of 126 mm yr−1. Forested areas contributed the largest fraction of the total national ET at 59%. Averaged for all cover types, transpiration accounted for 45% of the total ET, while in forested areas, transpiration contributed 51% of ET. Modeled results of daily ET are compared with eddy covariance measurements at three forested sites with a r2 value of 0.61 and a root mean square error of 0.7 mm/day.